Yelp (NYSE:YELP) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The local business review company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $361.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $353.47 million. Yelp had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 9.47%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Yelp’s conference call:

• Yelp accelerated its AI transformation, rolling out more than 35 new features including a new Yelp Assistant across all categories, which now accounts for roughly 15% of request?to?quote projects.
• Advertising demand remains soft: RR&O ad revenue declined 11% year?over?year, paying advertising locations fell 6% to 485,000, and ad clicks were down 10%, factors that helped management maintain its full?year outlook amid March weakness.
• Other revenue hit a record $29 million, up 75% y/y driven by food ordering (+88% via the DoorDash partnership), data licensing (deals with OpenAI and others), and Hatch (March ARR >$34M, +92%); management is targeting a $250 million other?revenue run rate by end of 2028.
• Q1 financials showed modest top?line growth with net revenue +1% to $361M while net income fell 27% to $18M (5% margin) and adjusted EBITDA was $79M (22% margin), with both revenue and EBITDA beating the high end of guidance.
• Management is prioritizing AI investments while returning capital to shareholders, repurchasing $125M of stock in Q1 (reducing diluted shares ~12% y/y) and aiming to cut stock?based comp to <6% of revenue by end of 2027 to help expand adjusted EBITDA margins over time.

Yelp Stock Performance

Shares of YELP stock traded down $1.46 on Friday, hitting $27.04. 2,020,121 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 931,805. Yelp has a twelve month low of $19.60 and a twelve month high of $41.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $25.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.53.

Key Headlines Impacting Yelp

Here are the key news stories impacting Yelp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Yelp beat Q1 expectations, reporting $0.30 EPS versus $0.26 expected and $361.46 million in revenue versus $353.47 million estimated, helped by stronger other revenue and broader adoption of its Assistant tools. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Yelp said it is advancing its AI transformation, which may support future product improvements and monetization if adoption continues. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Yelp to $26 from $22 but kept a neutral rating, suggesting the stock may still have limited upside from current levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s Q1 earnings call transcript and related coverage indicate investors are focusing on whether revenue growth can outpace expense pressure in coming quarters. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, Q1 EPS declined from a year ago and costs rose, which may be pressuring sentiment around profitability. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Yelp’s FY2026 revenue guidance appears roughly in line with consensus, but the lack of a clearly stronger outlook may be limiting enthusiasm for the stock. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on YELP. UBS Group set a $28.00 target price on shares of Yelp in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Yelp from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Yelp in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Yelp from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Yelp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $29.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dan Jedda sold 1,464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total value of $30,773.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,442. This represents a 7.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total transaction of $199,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 209,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,567,380. This represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,864 shares of company stock worth $723,573. Insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yelp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YELP. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yelp by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the local business review company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Yelp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Yelp during the third quarter worth $84,000. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC acquired a new position in Yelp during the third quarter worth $174,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in shares of Yelp during the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company’s stock.

About Yelp

Yelp is a digital platform that connects consumers with local businesses through user-generated reviews, ratings and multimedia content. The company’s flagship offerings include the Yelp website and mobile applications for iOS and Android, where users can search for and discover restaurants, shops, service providers and other points of interest. In addition to crowd-sourced reviews and photographs, Yelp provides business profile pages featuring hours, contact information, menus and direct messaging capabilities.

Yelp generates revenue primarily through advertising services sold to small and medium-sized enterprises.